This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2015, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.
Britain Covey had plenty of reason to smile on Thursday night, and so did Utah fans.
The Timpview grad and freshman receiver was a yard away from adding a touchdown to his five-catch, 58-yard performance.
"He stepped up and took on that role in the slot," quarterback Travis Wilson said of Covey. "He made some great catches tonight. I definitely think the refs screwed him out of his first college touchdown, but he did a great job."
If there was a theme to Utah's passing game in a 24-17 win over Michigan, the yards came in slightly unexpected places. Devontae Booker led with seven grabs with 55 yards, Bubba Poole had three catches, and tight ends combined for five catches.
Through it all, Wilson looked fairly cool at the helm, spreading the ball to eight receivers while going 24 for 33 with a meaningless pick on a Hail Mary attempt before halftime. It was a start for an offense that hopes to capitalize more on individual talents in the passing game.
One group that lacked productivity: outside receivers. Kenneth Scott and Tyrone Smith, both starters at X and Z receiver respectively, had a combined four catches for 26 yards. The receiving corps was missing Tim Patrick, who warmed up in uniform, and Raelon Singleton, who did not.
Against Utah State, the Utes are looking for more production on the outside, and perhaps in the deep passing game.
"We've got to do a better job of getting them into the mix," Kyle Whittingham said. "Some of that was coverage, and we had guys underneath when they were down deep. We gotta find ways to get them the football."
Iffy special teams night
Tom Hackett had a record-setting performance on Thursday night, sending a punt careening across the field as few can.
But even though it was a career-best 74 yards, it came with a caveat no punter wants: a touchback.
The group that Utah has touted as perhaps its most solid unit didn't shine against Michigan. Hackett had four punts, including two that traveled under 40 yards. He also had two touchbacks, including one that nearly pinned the Wolverines inside their own 5.
Andy Phillips had more conspicuous shortcomings: Though 48- and 46-yard field goals are no easy task, Phillips missed both on his second and third field goal attempts of the game. Entering the season, the junior kicker was over 80 percent for his career from 40-plus yards.
"Special teams was pretty much a wash," Whittingham said. "We didn't do much there, missed a couple field goals which is uncharacteristic for us."
For the last eight months, Whittingham has touted the specialists, who were both Pac-12 first team honorees. Phillips did make a 30-yard field goal, and Hackett ended up averaging 48 yards per boot thanks to his career long.
Perhaps the best special teams moment was provided by newcomer Covey, who had a 14-yard return on a punt and juking a pair of would-be tacklers. Cory Butler-Byrd didn't get a chance to return a kickoff, which all went for touchbacks.
Fox Sports 1 has record ratings
Guess the HarBus was worth it.
Fox Sports 1, which is striving to become a competitor to ESPN, promoted the heck out of its season opener with a Jim Harbaugh-themed bus and interns, in addition to more traditional marketing. Something paid off Thursday, as the channel reported 2.868 million viewers and a 1.73 Nielsen rating — the best ever for the network's college football coverage.
It beat the network's previous best game, Oregon vs. Oregon State, by almost 700,000 viewers. Utah's 24-17 win over Michigan was the second-most watched college football game of the night behind ESPN's matchup of South Carolina and North Carolina with 3.6 million viewers, according to a report from The Detroit Free-Press.
The game itself set an attendance record for Utah with 47,825 fans at Rice-Eccles Stadium.
Briefly
NFL rookies and former Utes Brian Blechen and Kaelin Clay were cut from their respective teams, the Carolina Panthers and Tampa Bay Buccaneers, on Saturday. Both are hopefuls for practice squad spots.
Twitter: @kylegoon